My Grand Canyon visit with environmentalist and wooden dory pioneer Martin Litton began with a thunderous “BOOM” which echoed off the walls of the side canyon and sent us scurrying back to our rafts. Thunder is not a welcome sound while exploring a slot canyon prone to flash flooding, but upon return to our rafts we discovered the true source of the thunder: an exploded air bladder in one of our gear boats, an 18-foot rubber catamaran.
The boat was crippled, and it was all we could do to float a quarter mile to the next camp… a camp that was already occupied by none other than Martin Litton, 90 at the time, and his crew. With no other alternative, my party of 16 people and five rafts crowded into their camp and got to work patching our raft, pitching tents and prepping dinner.
The next morning some friends and I introduced ourselves to Martin and enjoyed a thoughtful visit with him, pictured above. It’s no exaggeration to say that without Martin, there would have been no Grand Canyon for us to float. Instead, the beach on which we sat would probably be buried beneath another reservoir.
Following his recent death at 97, there has been an outpouring of thoughts on Martin Litton’s legacy. As an environmental activist, Litton was incredibly effective. Beginnning in 1963, he and David Brower “successfully derailed the Bureau of Reclamation’s plans for two dams—the Bridge Canyon Dam and Marble Canyon Dam—that were slated for construction between lakes Powell and Mead, within the last 277-mile running stretch of the Grand Canyon. He and Brower took out full-page ads in the New York Times decrying the dams… (and) in 1968, the plan to flood the Grand Canyon was scrapped.” (source: OutsideOnline.com)
In 1995, a documentary hosted by musician James Taylor was released which chronicles his descent of the Grand Canyon guided by Martin Litton and crew in their wooden dories of Martin’s design. The quality of this VHS-recorded video is poor, but it does a nice job of bringing you inside the grand and telling Martin’s story. Enjoy:
James Taylor’s Colorado River Adventure with Martin Litton
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Jim Heumann says:
Right on! Without Martin’s work there would likely be two dams at the bottom of the grand canyon – how sad that would be. So sorry that he is gone, but happy he was with us for so long.
Michael Appleby says:
Thanks for putting this up. In ’72 I spent the summer as a tour guide on the South Rim and later in the spring spend 10 days on the river in one of those 35 foot rafts. The Grand Canyon is and awsome place … worthy of our respect.